After a recent Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling, which rulesthat it is unconstitutional to ban gay marriages, the Presidentsaid “marriage is a sacred institution between a man and awoman…I will work hard with congressional leaders and othersto do what is legally necessary to defend the sanctity ofmarriage.”

The issue of gay marriages is so serious it is mentioned rightalongside matters of national security.

On July 30, 2003 President Bush held a press conference in theWhite House Rose Garden to discuss the war in Iraq and the ongoingfight against terror. He also mentioned that his lawyers would lookinto creating a plan for a constitutional amendment banning gaymarriages.

So does this mean that the issue of gay marriages will fall intothe hands of the Department of Homeland Security?

The issue of gay marriages is an issue that President Bush holdsnear and dear to his heart and it is part of a nationwide hysteriacampaign fueled by religious fundamentalists and evangelicalinfluence on the Republican dominated government.

“Once we put homosexuality on a level of equality withanything else it will be the downfall of civilization,” saidCurt Nutter, a former youth minister and church elder at the FirstEvangelical Free Church of Sacramento.

Many feel this way because the Bible says that the purpose ofmarriage is procreation (Genesis 1:27-28). If that is the case thenbarren women should be forbidden to marry, as should sterile menand senior citizens.

What punishment should be proscribed for married couples whodon’t have children? Does the religious right plan anamendment to penalize people who choose not to get married?

Sadly President Bush is not alone in this nationwide game of”smear the queer” according to a recent study done bythe Pew Center 59 percent of Americans are against gay marriagesand 10 percent are in favor of a constitutional amendment toofficially ban them.

With statistics like that and an effort in the highest echelonsof power to put a constitutional ban on gay marriages, it puts usin the same league of such intolerant nations like Saudi Arabia andIran. Both of which are fueled by religious fundamentalism.

What is next in Bush’s plan, stoning people who commitadultery? After all, it is the prescribed punishment laid down inthe Bible (Leviticus 20:10).

Fifty years ago a majority of the United States was in an uproarover the issue of African-Americans marrying whites. The Biblestates that interracial marriage is forbidden (Deuteronomy7:3).

The mere idea of a black man and a white woman together was seenas blasphemous just as the idea of two gays together is today. Buttimes have changed. Today our attitudes are more accepting to amore diverse culture.

President Bush and the nation should remember what history hastaught us that progress stems from tolerance and an acceptingattitude. not hate and division.

Is Justin thinking straight?

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